Page 107 of Hunted By Fear

“Shh, it’s okay, Aeri. Just breathe.” Strong arms pull me close, offering me comfort and warmth, but it’s as if it’s blocked somehow, leaving me shivering.

A hand brushes hair from my forehead so gently it’s as if they fear I might break.

“We’re here, Aeri, and we’re not going anywhere.”

Ruin?

I want to open my eyes and see if it’s actually him or my mind playing tricks on me, but no matter how hard I try, I just can’t. It’s almost as if I’m not in control.

“This will never go away. He just damned her to feel this pain for the rest of her life!”

I’ve never heard Talian sound so upset, and while everything inside me wants to reach out and comfort him, I can’t.

“Shut up, you’re not helping,” Bast hisses, and I realize he’s the one holding me; I should have known.

But it doesn’t matter what anyone says; right now, the pain is the only thing I can understand, the only thing I know to be fact because Asta doesn’t want me.

“I never intended to keep her, but having her tied to me is for the best, at least for now. It keeps her safe from Rome.”

And apparently neither does Lucifer…

I can’t handle this pain again, not after knowing what it’s like to be his and him to be mine. Not when I felt the bond, warm and welcoming.

“Please don’t,” I manage to croak out, but it’s not enough.

The person I need to hear it from is nowhere to be found, just like always, and despite being in a room full of people I care about, I feel so damn alone.

So I do the only thing I can think of to make it stop and fall into the darkness.

Consciousness comes slowly, and try as I might, I apparently can’t just sleep forever. Doesn’t mean I wasn’t going to try, though, not when the alternative hurt so fucking bad.

I’d woken a few times now, but only for a few minutes before I was able to drift off again, just long enough to know I’m wrapped in someone’s arms or pressed between bodies. Still, it’s not enough; the hole in my chest only grows larger.

Why would the universe curse someone like this? To tie me to not one but two people who will reject me seems cruel.

I ignore the little voice in the back of my mind that whispers of more pain, of a missing link who will no doubt also choose to reject our bond.

Never did I think there would be a fate worse than Rome, but the universe has jokes, and apparently, I’m the punch line.

“Aeri?” There are equal parts hope and fear in Bast’s voice. The bed moves beside me, and I hear his breath catch and decide I’ve done enough damage.

The room is dark, just like the castle is. Yes, there are candles, but it’s not the same as the light back topside; it doesn’t cut through the shadows quite the same, instead making more. It’s funny how they coexist together, side by side.

Beautiful, really.

Even still, the soft candlelight feels like I’m looking at the sun, and it takes a few times for me to be able to keep my eyes open without them watering.

I regret it the moment I do, as pain hits me as if I’ve touched a live wire, and I’m left curled in on myself, moaning and groaning.

“Damn it,” Talian curses, but his voice is tight, and something tells me he isn’t upset with me.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” I blink up at Ruin, and for a moment, all I can do is stare at him before I squeeze my eyes closed and turn away.

He came back, but why? I hope nobody forced him to.

It’s funny; not long ago, I would have been ecstatic to see him again, but now it only makes me sad.

Was Ruin to be mine as well? God, I hoped he had, the same way I hoped Bast was right about us being mated.